Breath and Song
by AngryLadyKami
Summary: Alternate Universe, High School. Lucy changes schools to escape her past, but finds her new school less than welcoming. Catching the eye of the school hottie, Lucy can't help but be drawn to a fellow sportsman. Soon Lucy learns that she has a rival in her affections who will not be making high school life easy for the newcomer. [NaLu, GaJeevy, MiLA, Jerza - ANTI Lisanna sentiment]
1. Chapter 1 - Legacies and Beginnings

**Hi All**

 **A short (ish) NaLu Romance. Might continue on for a few chapters. Enjoy!**

 **PS This story is anti- Lisanna. HISSSS**

 **-Kami**

* * *

Chapter 1 - Legacies and Beginnings

Lucy exited the bus last, and followed the group of girls in retrieving their things from the luggage storage. Her bag, like all of theirs, was a large duffel type, with a small additional combination lock holding closed the two zippers.

Lucy followed the girls over to where her coaches gathered them, and several girls began changing their trainers for cleats. Lucy sat by herself on a bench and did the same. Her mind wandered for a bit as she enjoyed the sunshine with a cool breeze hinting at the beginning of winter. The season was ending, and the inter school competitions were almost over.

On the other side of the field stood several four row bleachers. The opposition team sat here and their coach frequently pointed to their side as she talked. A clapping of hands forced her attention back to her own coaches. One male, one female stood giving a short speech about team play and etiquette before sending them off to run a lap of ball drills for warm ups. Lucy stood slowly and took the last ball from the bag before falling in line.

Though she was looking forward to this match to de-stress, she wanted this school year to be over. No one knew how frazzled her nerves were, how make up hid her tired eyes and how jumpy she was lately. Soon it would all be over. Lucy kicked the ball further ahead and picked up her pace.

* * *

"Lisanna, are you listening?"

"What? yes coach, I'm listening!" The light haired girl shot her friend an amused look with a roll of her eyes.

"No you aren't, pay attention or I'm going to sit you out for this game. Is that what you want?" The stern brunette with a ponytail tipped her baseball cap backwards and tugged on the whistle that hung from a thin cord around her neck.

"No coach." Lisanna sulked before sighing loudly.

"Then listen up. We have some strong players over there. See the girl in the blue top? She's their goalie. She has eyes like a hawk, and what she doesn't have in size, she will make up in speed. Don't dally in the goal, or she will be all over you. Got it?"

"Yes coach," the group of girls chanted while eyeing their opposition.

"The girl in the red and white shirt. She's their center midfield. Be careful around her, she shoots like a man and has the aim to back it up."

"She looks like a man," Lisanna muttered and two other girls giggled.

"Oh don't you worry about her Lisanna, you have bigger worries."

"What?!" Lisanna said, annoyed at the smug tone of her coach.

"See that girl with the black top?"

"The one with the huge knockers?" She said loudly enough for Lucy to hear. The blond turned briefly to glance at them. Lisanna's coach took off her hat and swatted the girl with it. "Yes, her."

"What about her?"

"That girl is the black death. She will out- dribble you, out- shoot you, out-run you and out- score you if you give her even the slightest chance."

An ugly expression settled on Lisanna's face. "Well then I won't give her the chance." She crossed her arms. "Isn't she a junior? How come she gets to play first string."

"Same reason Lisanna does." The coach said pulling a clipboard from her bag. "The girl has skills. Now I want ten jumping jacks, ten push ups, sit ups, ten thigh highs and ten butt kicks followed by a two laps, one facing inward and one facing outward, GO." The girls groaned and began doing the warm up exercises. Lisanna started with buttkicks and thigh highs, and as she ran on the spot, she watched the blonde across the way on the field with narrowed eyes.

* * *

"Good game Natsu." Lisanna approached the pink haired boy who straightened up from the water cooler and drank a whole cup of water before refilling it again.

"Thanks Lis. When does your game start?"

"In fifteen minutes. Are you going to watch me play?" She smiled coyly at him and he nodded. "Once coach says we're done, I'll come over and watch."

Lisanna grinned and ran off to start her match. When Natsu was done he took a seat in one of the bleachers beside Gray who had taken his shirt off. "I'm trying to distract the ladies." He explained with a grin.

"Well there's one you've distracted." Natsu said with a wink, nodding his head to Gray's left. Gray peeked over to find Juvia staring at his muscled sweaty torso. "She must be your biggest fan."

Gray shook his head. "Don't even ask me when that started, I don't want to know."

The crowd suddenly stood on their feet and applauded, and Natsu and Gray turned back to the field. "What? Did they score already? Wow Lisanna must be on her game."

"It's not Lisanna," Natsu said, his eyes caught by the long legs and voluptuous body of a different soccer player. She hustled back to her side and the ball was passed from the center circle again. Almost immediately, a flash of black shorts and top with a blue school logo whipped past the attacker, and with a twist of feet and legs, spun the ball away from her opposition.

"Who is that?" Natsu asked standing as he watched her.

Gray dug a program out of his bag. "Whats her number?"

"I'd like to know that too."

"No Flame Brain. Whats her shirt number."

"One."

"One? Then that is... Lucy Heartfilia. Holy Shit, she scored over 24 goals in the last season. This season she's up to 28 before this final."

* * *

"What a bitch," one of the girls muttered before grabbing a cup and helping herself to the water cooler.

"Good hustle girls. Don't let the score worry you, keep it strong."

"We're five points down. How are we supposed to 'keep it strong'." Lisanna said bitterly.

"Lisanna, good game."

Lisanna's head swivelled to where Natsu waved to her, and her face contorted in something between happiness and humiliation. The pink haired heartthrob grinned from where he sat on the bleachers, and Lisanna turned away and focused on her teammates.

"Lets get back in the game girls. Let's give miss big-tits a nice warm welcome."

* * *

"I could out shoot her."

"You're not that good nude freak." Natsu sat on the edge of his seat watching the long blond pony tail, whirl through the group of girls like they were standing still.

"I could totally..." he stopped suddenly as a gasp went up from the crowd. Natsu stood and Gray followed suit. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure."

The cluster of girls began pushing each other until a referee broken them up. Shortly after, Natsu watched as the girl he couldn't take his eyes off was led limping from the field. "Looks like she got hurt." Gray said sitting back down, taking his shirt off with a glance at the goth girl with blue hair sitting nearby.

Natsu didn't even notice, but hopped down the bleachers to where the girls were gathering around the coach. "Hey Lis. What happened?" One of the girls smirked and Lisanna turned to Natsu. "Beats me, she was probably prancing so much she fell flat on her face." The light haired girl turned back to listen to what the coach was saying, and a look of victory passed amongst them.

* * *

"What happened out there Heartfilia? This is not a time for weak ankles!" The woman crouched down in front of Lucy and her expression was not pleased.

"I don't know coach... I..."

"Did they trip you up? Then you need to take the fall and get us that penalty. Got that?" The woman turned away in disgust and focused on the rest of the game. The school nurse came over and took a look at her ankle. It was slightly swollen, but not very painful. The ice pack the nurse put to it helped ease the discomfort.

Lucy watched as her team slowly lost point after point. Her coach paced the edge of the field yelling instructions, but the opposition seemed to gain a new breath of life, zigging and zagging through her teammates. Lucy noticed the light haired girl weaving back and forth. For all her skill, she was a solo player. She never seemed to pass the ball and always took the shot on the goal regardless of whether a teammate was 'open'.

Lucy sat with her hands clasped in front of her, her heart in her throat. Suddenly the whistle blew. She let out a long sigh. They were tied 6-6 after overtime.

"PENALTY SHOOT OUTS. THREE." The referee jogged over to a goal with the ball. "Two players."

"Lucy, get in there." Lucy looked in shock at her coach.

"My coach, my ankle..."

"Heartfilia, suck it up. If we lose this final because you couldn't stand on your own feet for two minutes, how would your teammates feel?"

The male coach took her arm to help her up, somewhat roughly. "You can do it Lucy, just push through it."

Disgusted, Lucy hobbled to where the referee stood with Lisanna. From the other girl's smirk, Lucy was fairly sure she knew who had tripped her up.

"You all right to do this?" The referee asked looking at her ankle.

"Its ok, I can shoot with both feet." Lucy smiled and Lisanna scoffed and rolled her eyes.

The ref blew his whistle and the goalie took her position. Lisanna was up first, and after careful aim, ran up and kicked the ball hard. It flew low, and her team's goalie dived, knocking it away from the goal. She let out an annoyed sound and glared at Lucy as if it was her fault.

They swopped goalies, and after taking a deep breath, Lucy kicked the ball. It soared higher than Lisanna's ball but curved up. Their goalie managed to tip it up just enough that it flew over the top of the net.

"DAMIT." Lucy tried to shrug off her coach's angry expletive from the sidelines. "FOCUS HEARTFILIA."

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and she took a deep breath to calm herself. Lisanna kicked her second ball and it went wide, earning a chuckle from the crowd and a mortified expression from Lisanna.

When it was her turn, Lucy took a deep breath and began humming a small tune under her breath. When the whistle blew, she flew forward and the kick felt good. The ball soared high, but tipped neatly into the right corner of the net. The crowd behind her cheered.

"THATS WHAT I"M TALKING ABOUT!"

Lisanna glared at her as her third and last ball was placed before her on the grass. Perhaps anger gave her focus, because this time the goalie could not stop the ball. They were tied, 7-7 and only her kick left.

Lucy shook her ankle gently. It hurt pretty bad now. She shouldn't be standing on it. _Don't think about it. Just focus on the goal._ She hummed the little tune, finding its rhytm in her heart and when the whistle blew, she was ready for it. The ball flew true, flying right, but then curving enough to edge into the net on the left side. The goalie misjudged the kick and had leaped the wrong way. Massive cheering exploded in the modest crowd, and her team hugged and yelled on the sidelines. Lucy smiled. It felt good.

She hobbled over to her team bench, and iced her foot some more, deciding to forgo the medal ceremony. Her coach however insisted she stand for the pictures, which she did reluctantly. As they were heading back to the team bus afterwards, Lucy stopped for one moment as a group of guys playing two on two caught her attention.

Three of them were shirtless, and as a result, a group of girls had gathered to watch them. One was the white haired girl whom she had beat. Lucy watched as two of the guys dribbled and kicked while the other two hung out in the goals, made of two bags roughly the same distance apart. Something about the sight made Lucy smile. They seemed so carefree. This is what soccer was meant to be.

The pink haired guy looked up and their eyes caught. Lucy's mistrust and shyness wanted to kick in, but a smile spread across his face. It seemed so genuine and a happy. He lifted one hand behind his head and grinned as if he too was taken by their connection. The light haired girl turned to see where he was looking and scowled at the soccer ball hit him in the head. Lucy ducked her head in a smile and hobbled over to the bus.

Natsu raged at Gray, and when he looked up, the blond haired girl was gone.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed it!**

 **-Kami**


	2. Chapter 2 - A Fresh Start

**Hi Guys**

 **Chapter 2 is Lucy's new beginning.**

* * *

Chapter 2 - A Fresh Start

Lucy sat back in the comfortable leather seat of the limousine feeling a pang of pain in her heart. Yet, she also felt a lightness that she hadn't felt for a long time. Thinking back on the conversation she just had with her father, she was surprised. Her father was a hard man, his victories hard fought and hard won. _Did he not want to fight for me, or did he see how much this meant to me?_

* * *

 _"Lucy, are you sure you want to do this?" The man she had always seen as cold and distant paced back and forth behind his desk. A habit earned from a lifetime of work, he unconsciously reverted back to it now._

 _"I'm suffocating here dad. I can't take it anymore." She took a step closer to him, tears in the corner of her eyes. "I know you've tried your best to raise me since mom died, and you need to know that this is not your fault, but I need a change. I can't go on feeling like this every day."_

 _"I can hire bodyguards for you..."_

 _"We tried that. Its not a life. I need to disappear from here. From these people."_

 _"I could get the school to..."_

 _"No dad. You can't interfere in how people ARE. No matter how much money you throw at it, people will always be how they are." She tugged the sleeve of his shirt and he turned toward her. There were tears in his eyes too._

 _"I love you dad. I just need this. I'll come visit when I'm settled in." Her father took her in his arms then and hugged her fiercely. It was something he hadn't done for many years and Lucy cried silently against his chest. Finally she wiped her tears and smiled. "It will be amazing. You'll see."_

* * *

 _"_ Miss Lucy? We are here."

"Thank you Henry." The chauffeur opened the door for her and stood by awkwardly once he removed her two bags from the trunk. The first was a large checked luggage piece, and the second a roll-on. A handbag with some items was looped around her shoulder.

"We will miss you miss Lucy." The chauffeur sad with a sad smile. "I hope it wasn't anything we did..."

Lucy smiled. "Its nothing you or anyone did Henry. I just needed a change. And I'll miss you too." She hugged him before waving goodbye. Henry was like an older brother to her, having been her personal chauffeur since he was 18 and she was 5. He had been there on the first days of school and the last, for sports events, for good days and bad.

She entered the train terminal and checked in, using her credit card to purchase a first class ticket. It would be her last luxury, she decided with a smile. Things would be different now. Settling into the first class lounge, she waited for her train before boarding. Once seated, and on her way, she changed her expensive pants suit and heels for a pair jeans, sneakers and black spaghetti- strap tank top. They might be new, but they were a world away from the things she was forced to wear her entire life.

She slept briefly, and woke just before they arrived in Magnolia City. Looking through the window, at the green vibrant city flashing by, she had a good feeling. At the other end, she was met by her father's solicitor. "Mr Adams." She smiled politely and the man bowed. "Miss Lucy. I hope you are well?" Lucy nodded and they headed to his car. "Were you able to do what I asked?"

"Yes Miss Lucy. We can head to the real estate office at once." He opened the car door for her and soon they were speeding down the highway. It didn't take long for them to enter a fairly residential neighborhood dotted with small shrines, cherry trees and two story houses squashed together with small front and back yards.

A short round woman met them looking somewhat like a green apple wearing a belt. Her brown hair was pulled back in a severe ponytail that stuck up like a stem. She chatted incessantly and led them to five houses in the neighborhood. The first three were quite opulent and modern, but too far from the school she would be attending. The fourth one was a bit more run down but settled like a compound amid the small houses of the neighborhood. A large round double gate was set into an inconspicuous grey wall, short in length but taller than a person., framed with red bricks. The wall was, for its short length topped with older black roof tiles shingles.

There was a small cul-de-sac on which five houses sat. The sixth house, hers, looked like a short stretch of wall with a rounded gate. Compared to the other two story homes, it didn't' seem like a property at all. Once inside, she saw a large fore-garden, and while unruly now, would be quite lovely once tended to. Several large elm trees were artfully grown along the border of the wall. On one side, a large cherry tree sat overlooking a koi pond and stone bench. On the other side, broken cobbles with weeds grew in between them. It might have been a parking area at one time.

Straight ahead was the house. It was a one story with a large ancient kitchen, two 16 tatami rooms, two bathrooms,a living room, dining room, and a large long room that might have been a dojo at some point. The large expanse of springy floor led her to believe it had endured many days of training. Ten meters behind the house was another wall beyond which she could see more houses. She was surrounded on almost all sides by houses, but the wall was tall enough to ensure her privacy.

"It's perfect. I'll take it."

"But we haven't seen the 5th house yet..."

"That won't be necessary." Lucy's solicitor took over and steered the woman away to talk about paperwork while Lucy took in her surroundings. "How soon can I have it." She asked when they returned.

"I can have the paperwork finalized by the end of the day Miss Lucy."

"Can I move in today?"

The solicitor shot the agent a look and she nodded. "I even have the paperwork in the car." It didn't take them long to sign the documents and by afternoon, it was a done deal. Her solicitor took her shopping that afternoon for groceries, tools anything she would need in the next few days. He rented a truck to deliver all her items and by evening she was left alone.

"Finally." Lucy smiled quietly to herself. The lightbulbs in the house were old, as was the wiring, but at the moment it was enough to get around with. Lucy packed her things away in the first tatami room before unpacking her groceries. It would be two days before she started school, and she had so much to do.

The following morning she looked up a nearby bicycle shop before heading out to make a puchase. Her bicycle was black and pink with a basket on the front and an optional little pull cart for behind. Lucy decided to get it since she didn't yet have her drivers license. After that she made a trip to the hardware store for plugs, extension cords as well as other items she would need around the house and garden.

Cleaning took nearly all day, as did figuring out how to cook something she could eat. "I thought this was supposed to be easy." She said with a grimace as she threw away what she had made. "I didn't think I would be such a bad cook." Finally she settled on just eating some fruit she had bought. She would have to figure it out soon though. She only had one more day before school.

* * *

"What are we doing here?" Natsu said bored.

"I'm looking for a book." Lisanna said dragging him along behind her.

"Why do I have to be here for that?"

"I like your company." She moved down the aisle to where some magazines were stacked against the wall. Bored Natsu wandered from aisle to aisle.

A woman's perfume made him turn, but only a flash of blond hair remained as she rounded the corner. Something tugged at him, and curious he turned the corner. The woman was paying for a whole stack of books, and had her back to him.

"Hey where'd you go?" Lisanna grabbed hold of Natsu's arm and spun him around. "I was talking to you about something."

"Oh yeah?" Natsu reluctantly turned back to her.

"Yeah, what do you think? Should I get a magazine subscription or buy two of these?" She held up an epic romance volume with three in one stories.

"Ahhh..." Natsu stared, unsure of what to say. "I don't know...?"

Lisanna babbled on about the choices, and by the time she came to a decision, Natsu turned to see the woman disappearing down the road on her black and pink bicycle. A feeling of disappointment swept over him and he scratched his belly, unsure why.

* * *

"Whew, done." Lucy sat up wiping her forehead. It had taken the better part of the day, but she had finally built together all her furniture. A bed and bedside table for her bedroom, several bookshelves and a kotatsu table for her office library.

Distributing her few items, she tried to make the house more settled in. It would take a while. The garden needed weeding The driveway needed to be re-bricked and she had yet to do anything about the back yard stretch of grass that was nearly waist high.

Scrubbing herself clean before soaking in the small but tall bathtub, she enjoyed her last day alone before school. Lucy slid the doors of her bedroom open to the outside and combed her hair as the outside night breeze drifted in.

From nearby she heard a low throaty singing and the playing of a guitar. She listened for a while, and when it stopped, couldn't help herself. "That was beautiful." She said loudly enough for whichever neighbour it was to hear. After a moment a simple "thanks" drifted back her way.

"Good night." She said, not sure what else to say.

"Sweet dreams." The voice said back.

Lucy slid her door closed and as a precaution, locked it. She wanted to pretend she was safe here, but a lifetime of watching her back made her wary.

Slipping into bed she set her alarm. Tomorrow would be a great day!

* * *

 **Hi Hi,**

 **Slow start I know, but if you've read my 'Fairy Games' you know I like to build up before the action starts. Hope I don't disappoint.**

 ***pajama dance***

 **-Kami**


	3. Chapter 3 - One Man's Trash

**Hey hey!**

 **Chapter 3!**

 **-Kami**

* * *

Chapter Three - One Man's Trash

The school hallways were empty so early in the morning, but even so, people turned to stare at the new blond girl walking toward the office. It didn't take her long to check in, and work out her time table. The lady behind the counter of the office handed her large white envelope stuffed full of rules, guidelines, calendars and other information. A post it note was stuck to the front with her locker number. As she waited for the woman to finish photocopying something, she traced the school emblem on the front of the envelope.

Her previous school had a book and a raven as its sigil, but this one was very different. It was a double circle within which a soccer ball made up the background. A magnolia blossom was overlaid over a crossed hockey stick and baseball bat. She liked it. Sports was her forte and changing to a school that so highly valued athleticism would be a dream come true.

"Is that a new student..." Lucy turned to the whispers, but the two girls quickly ducked out of sight before she could get a good look at them.

"Here you go. Have a parent or guardian sign that and return it tomorrow." The woman handed her three pages stapled together and Lucy slipped it into the envelope with a nod. The bell rang and the woman slipped her glasses off her head and began cleaning them. "Your first class is Mr Draper, out the door and to the left, down the hall and turn right."

Lucy picked up her bag and followed the woman's directions. "Are you the new student?" Lucy turned to where a flustered looking man was juggling several books with stacks of papers. "Here, hold this." He thrust the papers at her until he managed to steady his pile of books with his coffee mug. "Wait here and I'll settle everyone down and introduce you." Lucy nodded and the man slipped into the classroom, he slid the door shut, but it wasn't enough to block out what he was saying.

"Ok everyone sit down." The door opened briefly and the teacher snatched his papers back before closing the door again. "I have your tests right here and some are good, some are awful, and some are even worse. You know who you are, and if your grades slip below a C you are, as per the requirements of this class, required to sit after school for extra study time. I don't want to see you in here, ever. Because it means that I'm here instead of at home doing what I love."

"Your wife?" A smart aleck student chimed up and the class burst into laughter.

"Yes, ha ha very funny. That's detention for you today after school Mr Dragneel, right here until 4pm."

"I have practice!" The boy complained, but his teacher continued on.

"Well then you should have thought about that before you opened your mouth. Now! I have an announcement to make, you will be getting a new student in your class for this year, so I expect you all to welcome her and make her feel at home. It's difficult fitting in when you've all already made friends, so please be open to her joining you."

"I'll join with her..."

"Mr Redfox will be joinging DETENTION today, is there anyone else who would like to try me? No? Good."

The door slid open and Lucy wasn't prepared for the sudden mass of eyes on her. She stepped inside and her teacher closed the door behind her. "Everyone, this is Lucy Heartfilia. She's just transfered from another school. Lucy would you like to tell us a little about yourself?" She didn't. She really REALLY didn't.

"Uh... Hi everyone. I just moved here from..."

"Whats your bra size?" A girl chimed from the back.

"And that makes three. Thank you Cana, detention for you too. Lucy you can take a seat back there." The teacher waved at an empty seat and Lucy headed over there.

"No I'm serious! I thought I had the biggest..."

"Seriously Cana? She's new. Shiny new. Give her some space." The teacher sat down in front and began going through papers. He looked up and did a double take. Picking up a piece of chalk, he threw it at the seat next to her, and Lucy jerked away.

"Sorry Lucy, I wasn't throwing it at you." He glared at the pink haired boy who was sleeping next to Lucy one desk over. "How long has he been asleep?"

"Pretty much since you gave him detention." Someone said and the teacher sighed the long suffering sigh of someone at the very end of his rope.

* * *

"So big- tits is at our school?" A vein throbbed in Lisanna's head. "You're fucking kidding me."

"I swear its her. Did she get kicked out of her school?"

"No, but I swear to god I'm going to make sure she gets kicked out of this one." Minerva lit up a cigarette and let out a contented sigh.

"Why are you doing that, our stuff will stink."

"Relax Lis, we only have practice after this. Change of clothes, remember."

"Ugh whatever, just keep the smoke away from me. It makes my hair smell."

"Hey Lis, here she comes."

Lisanna turned to where a blond girl walked down the hall, oblivious to the stares she was receiving. Spontaneously she walked over to her and walked right into her. Lucy's things went flying and scattered all over the floor.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." Lisanna said sweetly dropping down to help her pick up her things. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

Lucy took in Lisana's smiling face and grinned in return. "It's ok, I wasn't watching either. It's my bad."

"I'm Lisanna."

"Lucy." She paused. "Have we met before?"

"I don't think so. Do you live around here?" Lisanna asked, pretending not to know.

"I just moved here. I live pretty close to the school."

"Yeah, me too. How are you finding the school?"

"Oh its lively." Lucy said smiling wider.

"That it is. Anyway, I'll see you around."

"Sure! Bye." Lisanna headed back to where her friends were watching her away from Lucy's sight.

"What was that?" Minerva asked choking back laughter. "Are you besties now?"

"Well you know what they say..." She took Minerva's cigarette and took a drag. "You catch more flies with honey..."

* * *

Lucy pulled her sopping books out of the fountain. Somewhere behind her, some girls giggled from the second story window. Gently she laid them down on the rim of the fountain. Her cellphone, calculator and some other items were ruined. The rest she could maybe salvage. She sighed as the bell rang. She would be late for maths class. Her bottom lip and chin quivered slightly before she managed to suppress the urge to cry.

She squeezed water out of her math book and english book and headed to class leaving the rest drying in the sun. On her way there, she picked up some paper towels from the bathroom and entered the classroom with a pile of crumpled towels.

"Miss Heartfilia, it is only the third day of school. Would it hurt you to to arrive on time like the rest of your class?" Lucy mumbled an apology before sitting down. _Its not fair, some of these people are only on time because they sleep here all day._ She shot a look at the pink haired boy next to her. Even though he arrived early and left late, he usually spent the day with his face planted firmly in his arms. She had barely seen him stir at all except when she saw his back disappear out the door at lunch so fast, papers went flying.

If it was one consolidation, it was that she had made a friend. Lisanna gave her a small smile before turning back to her work. Perhaps she could invite her over tonight to study together. While it was just the third day, already there were several test lined up for the following two weeks. She buckled down and tried to do her best with paper towel note paper and a textbook whose ink had smudged so badly she couldn't read it.

"Pst." She poked the boy next to her. At first he didn't move, but at her insistant prodding, a hand appeared to swat at her. "Hey! Can I use your maths textbook."

"No I donhave..." He mumbled before going back to sleep. _Great._ Well it wasn't like she expected someone who slept through class to come prepared. After class ended, she returned outside to find her things scattered everywhere. She gathered them up, and thankfully most weren't sopping wet anymore, and dumped them in her bag.

"Have you seen Lisanna?" Lucy asked one girl who waved her off in the direction of the gym. _Maybe I should try cooking something for dinner. I mean... that's the polite thing right? But I'd probably give her food poisoning_. She giggled to herself as she walked through the gym door. The sound of voices came from the other side of the bleacher area, and she was about to say something when she stopped short.

"She's a total bitch." _Lisanna?_ "I mean... SHE doesn't remember ME? What a liar."

"I know right? Like she's better than us or something. I hope she bombs at tryouts."

"Oh she will. I told her they were trying out Friday instead of tomorrow. She won't even be there, I'll make sure of it."

Lucy's heart pounded and she suddenly felt ill. Turning around, she walked out before she said something. How had she gotten things so wrong. For two days, Lisanna had been so sweet and nice to her, and now... Steeling her nerves, she choked back a flood of tears and squared her shoulders. _Let's see who doesn't get in during try outs._

* * *

Lucy fled down the staircase, a few breaths ahead of her pursuit. "I'm sorry, students aren't allowed down here." Lucy looked up to see a man stacking books into a returns wagon.

"I'm sorry, can I just... stay here for... one minute..." She couldn't seem to catch her breath, and glanced back up the small spiral stairs. The man followed her gaze and after a moment thumbed the door behind her. "There's a small office in there. You can stay there until they are gone."

Gratefully Lucy ran through and locked the door once inside. After a while she heard the man speak again. "I'm sorry girls, students aren't allowed down here." There was some mumbled replies that she didn't catch, and a short while later a key turned in the door. The man handed her a small first aid kit. "They're gone. Feel free to stay in here if you need to. I know how it can be sometimes." He smiled faintly and pushed his glasses higher on his nose. "You're gonna want to take care of that." He indicated her knees.

In her haste, Lucy hadn't even noticed. Both knees were skinned and blood rolled down her left knee and smudged her right. "Let me know if you need help." Lucy nodded and began cleaning herself up. Even her hands had scrapes on them. She opend the box and found some alcohol cleansing pads and began cleaning up both knees and palms. Then she stuck a big band aid on each knee, but couldn't do much with her palms except dab some antiseptic cream into the deeper cuts.

Pulling out her books, she got to work. Time flew and she found it easy to concentrate with no one around to bother her. But when she was done with studying and homework, her thoughts drifted to the week before. She had made the soccer team easily. She had also made the track team. The problem was, the other girls weren't happy about it. When they saw Lucy at try outs, and when she told them she knew about their conversation, they dropped the fascade immediately.

A pang of hurt hit Lucy as she remembered the ugly look come over Lisanna as she coldly told her to cut the act. Since then, every day was like this. Books in the fountain, dirt in her shoes, gum on her seat, things written on bathroom stall walls. It had never been this bad at the other school. Or maybe it was but she didn't remember.

A knock stirred her from her thoughts. "I'm heading out now. I have to lock up the library."

"I'm Lucy by the way, Lucy Heartfilia."

"You can call me, Mr Paxton. I'm the junior librarian."

"Thank you for letting me work here Mr Paxton, I appreciate it." She took up her bag and headed out. The lights were still on in the hall outside so Lucy headed to the girl's bathroom. Slipping into her running shorts, sports tank and sneakers, she headed outside. The school was strangely quiet at night. Almost creepily so.

The one thing that was still lit up however, was the sports field. In the past few days, she had spoken to several teachers who mentioned the field's lights stayed on until ten in the evening. Now, she dropped her things on a bench and stretched.

Even though her knees ached, it felt good to stretch. Pulling her ipod out of her pocket she unravelled the earphones and snapped the head support until it clicked. The guard settled nicely on the back of her head and looped over her ears. Messing with the controls, she picked a song that always inspired her. It reminded her of her mother.

The song had several bars of opening, and Lucy bobbed on her heels to get a feel for the rhythm. When the slow singing started, she began to jog. The freedom of movement always brought a rush to her, as he body slowly settled into its comfortable rhythm. She jogged the first lap easily, and just as she began the second, the tempo of the song kicked into overdrive and her body pounded along the track.

Breath rushed from her lungs as song and emotion propelled her down the line. The final chorus began rising to a climactic crescendo and Lucy switched into overtime. The pure power and beauty of movement was watching Lucy sprint the final lap full tilt. She ran until her lungs burned, ran until her legs ached from exertion, ran until the end was in sight.

The final note of the song faded away and with it came the awareness of another voice. "Whew!" Quickly she ripped the headphones off and swivelled to look at who it was. Behind her, leaning his hands on his knees was the pink haired boy from her class.

"That was some Olympic level running." He panted and Lucy noticed that he wore a track suit and sneakers too. "I mean wow." He sat down on the grass beside her. "Keeping up with you is like chasing the wind." He fell back on the grass and Lucy couldn't help but smile, until she noticed how the gesture had made his shirt ride up the front, revealing his hip bones and flat hard stomach.

"It... um.. Natsu right?"

"Right? How'd you know my name?"

"I sit next to you in class?"

"You do?" He sat up and looked at her as if for the first time.

"Don't worry about it. If I was sleeping through all my classes, I wouldn't notice anyone either."

At this Natsu sheepishly slung his hand behind his head and grinned. "Touche. School is kind of boring for me."

"It's pretty boring for everyone. Unless you like the subjects." She held out a hand and he took it to stand up. "You should walk around more."

"I know you." Natsu's face changed to recognition and he stepped up to her to get a better look.

"What?" Lucy took a step back, surprised.

"I know you. You're the girl who won the inter school soccer tournament." He took a hold of her hands and shook them. "You're amazing."

Lucy looked down, a sudden rush of heat in her cheeks and belly. "I remember you too." She said it quietly but Natsu just smiled wider.

"Yeah, we won our game too!"

Lucy didn't realize that while he was sleeping on the desk next to her, that he was so tall. And so close. Her heart fluttered.

"I should go home."

"Ok, I'll walk you." Natsu said seriously crossing his arms.

"Oh no, thats all right."

"I insist. It's like 9:30pm, its dangerous to walk around by yourself."

"You don't even know where I live. I could live miles away."

"It's ok, I don't really have anything to do."

"You don't have homework or studying?"

Natsu grinned sheepishly again. "Well... you know."

"You don't do homework?" Lucy asked pulling a face. "Ok, let me get my bag." She pulled it out from where it had fallen under the bench, and headed to the main entrance.

"Hey Hey Lucy. What's your best time?"

"For what?"

"Um... 400m?"

"I can do about 59 seconds if I have a good day."

"Wow, that's fast. How about 800?"

"Um 2 minutes and 23 seconds is my best."

"Hey can you give me some pointers?"

"Pointers? For running?" She shifted her bag on her back and winced as the strap came into contact with her palm. After a moment, Natsu took it from her. "What are you doing?"

"Carrying your bag. So can you give me pointers?"

"I don't understand. Can I have my bag back?"

"Coach says I need more speed. He says I have plenty of power but I could be faster. Can you train me?"

"Train you? I'm not a coach."

"Yeah but you run so fast I couldn't keep up." He paused a second. "Why is your bag wet?"

"I... dropped it in the fountain."

Natsu's face changed as if he didn't believe her. "Are you that clumsy? Is that how you scrapped your knees and hands?"

"Yup, that's it." Lucy smiled grimly. "I'm just kind of clumsy like that."

"Well if you help me with running, I'll help you with not being clumsy."

Lucy stopped mid stride. "That's not..."

"Do you live down this street? This is my street?" Natsu pointed to where they were headed.

"Ah... yes... The wall at the end is my house."

"Neat! You're right next to my house!" He grinned and bounded over to the wall, trying to jump up so he could see over. "I've never seen what it looks like, it doesn't look like the other houses along this street." He paused and looked at her. "I actually thought this was an empty lot or a maintenance accesss or something."

"Ah... haha, no. Just my house." She unlocked the gate with a big key and wanted to close it again, but Natsu was inside so fast she couldn't.

"WOAH! This is amazing." He stared at all the space.

"But it looks like a haunted shrine."

"It's not a haunted shrine. It just... needs some fixing. See, I've already started." She pointed to where she had relaid the bricks of the driveway.

"Oh wow, good job!" He moved over to her house and took off his shoes as he opened the door.

"Hey, you can't just go in someone else's house!" Lucy ran over and took off her own shoes as she entered. Natsu was zipping through the house, turning on lights and glancing into every room. Finally she caught up with him in the kitchen.

"Whats that?" He said holding his nose while pointing at a pot on the stove. Weird brown green gunk had hardened at the bottom.

"Uh..." She glanced at the pile of dirty dishes and used pots. "I was trying to cook something?"

"Ebola?"

"Hey! No, I just... don't really..."

"Ok, I know what. I'll teach you to cook, and you help me run."

"I can cook!"

"Oh really?" He held up a box of ramen wrappers. "You might as well agree Lucy, cos I'm not leaving until you do."

Groaning, Lucy put her hands over her face. What was she getting herself into? "Fine, fine. Starting tomorrow. Not tonight." Natsu's face lit up.

"You won't regret it Lucy." He placed her bag on the kitchen table and headed outside with a wave. "See you tomorrow!"

Lucy waved after him, the smile cracking as she was already regretting her decision.

* * *

Shooby doo wap shoo wap.

-Kami


End file.
